﻿A ﻿Chinese Coast Guard ﻿speedboat ﻿﻿orders a vessel to leave the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in June, part of actions that drew rebuke from ﻿an international tribunal.﻿ ﻿

﻿A ﻿Chinese Coast Guard ﻿speedboat ﻿﻿orders a vessel to leave the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in June, part of actions that drew rebuke from ﻿an international tribunal.﻿ ﻿

Photo: SERGEY PONOMAREV, STR

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Workers at some Wal-Mart stores in China last week protested what they believe are drastic changes to their work schedules. Employees said the system has them working 11-hour shifts on weekends and as little as four hours on weekdays.﻿ less

Workers at some Wal-Mart stores in China last week protested what they believe are drastic changes to their work schedules. Employees said the system has them working 11-hour shifts on weekends and as little as ... more

Photo: Ng Han Guan, STF

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China and India will dominate energy demand growth, but by 2040 that growth will level off

"By 2040, China will have a much more mature economy, with energy demand growth...slowing to a more temperate pace," Exxon's report said. China will remain the largest energy consumer, with the U.S. right behind. India will continue to grow as its population achieves higher living standards, but will likely remain the No. 3 consumer through 2040.

People in panda outfits pose by a Chengdu Airlines ARJ21-700 plane before its first commercial flight.﻿

People in panda outfits pose by a Chengdu Airlines ARJ21-700 plane before its first commercial flight.﻿

Photo: Ding Ting, SUB

China refuses to fit into global economy

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The United States and European Union are stepping up pressure on China's Communist Party to conform to global trade rules, just as the government rejects international norms in the South China Sea.

The latest moves reveal the futility of hopes that incorporating China into the global economy would bring about positive changes within the totalitarian government. Frustration on both sides is mounting and increasing tensions.

In a speech prepared for Wednesday afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden was expected to highlight the action, saying: "It all comes down to fair competition — a notion that is fundamental to who we are as Americans."

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China has long wanted the EU to recognize it as a market economy so that it can increase exports to the trade bloc, which is already China's largest customer. But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that won't happen until China stops subsidizing steel exports.

Foreign businesses operating in China also report greater harassment, both informal and through China's highly politicized legal system. The government shutdown shut down Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies services in April and is suing the company over a 20-year-old propaganda film. A court has also denied Apple's trademark of the term iPhone.

The pattern is clear and disturbing to China's staunchest defenders in the West. The Communist Party has no intentions of playing by any rules but its own, and those rules will always favor China's government.

Years of constructive engagement are not paying off. In fact, trade and cooperation have only enriched China and strengthened the party's resolve.

That doesn't mean, though, that the party can succeed indefinitely. The party's stridency is directly related to its inability to effectively manage an economy that is getting bigger and more complicated than any government can handle. Unhappiness over local corruption has also bred civil unrest and hurt the party's popularity.

China remains a major source of instability for the global economy, and unfortunately, the Communist Party is heading in the wrong direction.